Keep up with Astronomy magazine's coverage of this important mission. Here you'll find the latest headlines and blogs about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS).

October 9, 2009News: The LCROSS has landed, by Bill Andrews, assistant editorDespite public disappointment over the lack of a visible debris plume, NASA remains confident of the mission's success. Read the full story.

October 9, 2009News: LCROSS impacts the Moon in search for water iceNASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, created twin impacts on the moon's surface early Friday in a search for water ice. Scientists will analyze data from the spacecraft's instruments to assess whether water ice is present. Read the full story.

October 9, 2009The LCROSS Centaur and Spacecraft impacted the Moon at approximately 7:30 a.m. PDT. Scientists are reviewing the initial data and will report what they know at a news conference this morning. Stay tuned to Astronomy.com for more details.

October 7, 2009News: LCROSS set to bombard the MoonNASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will smash into the Moon early Friday morning to find out once and for all if our nearest neighbor harbors hidden water in its darkest depths. Read the full story.

September 28, 2009News: SMART-1 mapped crash scene of upcoming LCROSS impactThe European Space Agency's (ESA) SMART-1 team released an image of the future impact site of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). LCROSS will search for water ice on the Moon by making two impacts into a crater named Cabeus A at the lunar South Pole. The impacts are scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EST on October 9, 2009. Read the full story.

June 19, 2009News: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launches successfullyNASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) launched at 5:32 p.m. EDT Thursday, June 18, aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite will relay more information about the lunar environment than any other previous mission to the Moon. Read the full story.

June 17, 2009Exclusive update from LRO mission scientist, Michael Wyatt: It's turning out to be a busy, chaotic week at the Kennedy Space Center.

You would expect that, considering that NASA has two major launches scheduled. As I wrote about yesterday (see below), the space shuttle Endeavour was scheduled to launch early this morning, and everyone was brimming with anticipation. But NASA had to scrub the launch for a second time because of a leak detected in the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank. These things happen, and it's better to be safe than sorry, of course, but still it can be frustrating — most of all for those most closely involved in the planned flight. Read the full update.

June 17, 2009News: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite are set to lift off together aboard an Atlas V rocket on Thursday, June 18, at 5:12 p.m. EDT. Two additional launch opportunities are available at 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

In preparation for liftoff, the Atlas V launch vehicle is scheduled to roll out to the pad Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Just as a scout finds the safest way for expeditions on Earth, NASA will first send a robotic scout to prepare the way for American astronauts to return to the Moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will roar into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on an Atlas V rocket Thursday, June 18. Read the full story.

NASA's return to the Moon will get a boost in June with the launch of two satellites that will return a wealth of data about Earth's nearest neighbor. On Thursday, the agency outlined the upcoming missions of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). The spacecraft will launch together June 17 aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Read the full story.

October 23, 2008News: NASA's next Moon mission begins thermal vacuum testThe spacecraft, built at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has been lifted into a four-story thermal vacuum chamber for a test that will last approximately 5 weeks. Once sealed in the chamber, the satellite will undergo a series of tests that simulate the space environment it will encounter when it orbits the Moon. Read the full story.

July 31, 2008News: NASA tests Moon-imaging spacecraft at GoddardNASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, also known as LRO, has completed the first round of environmental testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. These tests ensure the spacecraft is prepared for its mission to collect the highest resolution images and most comprehensive geological data set ever returned from the Moon. Read the full story.

June 26, 2008News: Final checks on lunar satelliteEngineering teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, know as LCROSS, that will take a significant step forward in the search for water on the Moon. Read the full story.

April 18, 2008News: Mission to the MoonSeveral instruments that will help NASA characterize the Moon's surface have been installed on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. The powerful equipment will bring the Moon into sharper focus and reveal new insights about the celestial body nearest Earth. Read the full story.